Emily Worthington - clarinet
Oscar Arguelles - clarinet
Anneke Scott - natural horn
Kate Goldsmith - natural horn
Robert Percival - bassoon
Hayley Pullen - bassoon

Serenade for wind instruments No 12 in C minor K 388 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arranged by Robert Percival
String Quintet in E flat for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello K 614 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arranged by Johann Christian Stumpf

In the 18th century, the harmonie - which consisted of pairs of bassoons, horns, clarinets and/or oboes - was a vehicle for bringing the latest symphonic and operatic music into the courts of central Europe. The formation was beloved by Mozart, who wrote of being surprised 'in the most pleasant fashion imaginable' by a sextet playing his own E flat Serenade outside his bedroom window. Inspired by this tradition, Boxwood and Brass present a programme of extracts from the operas of Mozart arranged by his contemporary Georg Kaspar Sartorius for performance by the harmonie at the ducal court of Hesse-Darmstadt, performed on instruments that both composer and arranger would have recognised, and music from the bohemian harmoniemusik repertoire.

Boxwood and Brass is a sextet of clarinets, horns and bassoons formed of leading period-instrument musicians who are united by their love of harmoniemusik. In our orchestral lives, we play with groups including the OAE, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Orchestre du Champs-Elysees and Academy of Ancient Music. As Boxwood and Brass, we present a variety of original works for harmonie alongside arrangements of works from the classical repertoire, and engage in research to further the understanding of the harmoniemusik tradition.